The First Step

      This may not be the most orthodox way to document my life, but I thought I'd give it a try. My sister does this sort of thing frequently and I can already tell you that she's better than me, so bear with me for the first couple of entries. 

      

      As I say in my bio, I really hope to start a podcast soon. Why? I don't know. I think it may be just an overwhelming need to have my stupid, geeky thoughts projected over a medium that requires the least amount of effort to maintain. The podcast won't be the topic of this month's entry, though. The topic this month is taking the first step. The title of this whole blog is "The Journey of a Thousand Miles," and all of those journeys begin with just one step.

      

      You may be saying to yourself (or aloud, I don't know) right now, "this kid is going to make cheesy entries that are going to annoy the living turds out of me!" I assure you that this, without a doubt, is mostly true. Just recently, I thought the same thing about my life. I thought, "oh, GREAT. This is going to be super annoying and I'm going to loathe every minute of it!" Oh how wrong I was! How incredibly, positively, unsurprisingly wrong I had been to think that! Life is a beautiful thing that can sometimes throw curve balls and frustrate us. However wicked those curve balls seem, their aftermath is so easy to rebuild from. All you have to do to start is take one small step. Those steps aren't going to be the easy part, though. They'll be hard and you'll fret over them, but once the step is taken, it's smooth sailing from there on out, my friend.

      I recently took a huge first step in my life. I have started to make the long transition to becoming and adult. I applied for a job at a food market close to where I live, here in Suburbia Junction, Missouri. This may not seem like that big of a deal. I mean, it's just a small job, right? Absolutely right. However, this is no easy task for me. I've been a pretty lazy guy for a while, and most of the things I do daily are a repeat of themselves. I go to school, come home, read some of my book (if I have one), and talk to my girlfriend. While talking to my girlfriend is great, I realized that the rest of that stuff has been my life for a long while now. Almost too long. The girlfriend situation is fairly recent. Anyway, I decided that it's time for me to shake things up a bit. Yes, my parents were telling me that it was time to get a job, but I'm going to stick with the story that it was my decision. 

      I admit, this first step wasn't a very big one at all, but if you know me, I'm not one for change (I very much like my steady diet of comic books and video games). I have always feared change because it's unfamiliar to me and it forces me out of my comfort-zone. But, that's life; it's how things work. Living and doing the same thing continuously are antonymous. If you are comfortable now, and have been for a very long time, it may be time for change to come in and work itself around. That may mean letting God take care of you while you go for something you've always wanted to do, getting rid of some old habits, or just trying out some new things to reconnect you to the beautiful thing we call life that you've been missing out on. The very idea of this kind of change may have you terrified, shaking in your boots. If so, I'll let you in on a little secret: it's okay to be scared. It doesn't make you weak, or insufficient, it makes you human. It is not okay, however, to let that fear affect your decisions. Fear can keep you from taking that first step, if you let it. It can also become hatred and make it's dark and rotting home in the bottom of your heart, causing you to turn bitter towards certain things. 

      My final advice to you is to think about what scares you, then pray about it (or meditate, sing, paint, write, I don't know how you do you) and then go take that first step. Totally throw out your fears and trust that God (or whoever you worship) will guide you through the parts of the journey that seem to be shrouded in darkness and uncertainty. Most of all, though, give yourself a little credit. I mean, look at you! You're a beautiful, awesome, kind, and caring human being! What can't you do when you put forth a little effort? The answer to that is as simple as this: nothing. You can do almost ANYTHING you set your mind to.

      That's all for this entry. I really wish you all peaceful and healthful days. Until next time, friends!